


Nothing is what it seems

by SkullAvis



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: AU, Action, Aftermath, Alternate Reality, Alternate Universe, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Canon-Typical Violence, Drama, Gen, I'm so bad with tags guys. srry, Mystery, Other, Survival
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-25
Updated: 2018-01-26
Packaged: 2018-03-22 07:59:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3721201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkullAvis/pseuds/SkullAvis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They've been trapped for who knows how long. Now was their chance to be free.</p>
<p>-----------------------<br/><span class="small"><span class="small"><strike>edit: changed the summary</strike></span></span></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm just gonna post this before it gets deleted in my drafts like my other one. Don't mind me ^^.

"I can't go with you Kaneki."

 

"What? Hide, stop playing around! We have to get out of here! The portal is right there!"

 

"You mean _your_ portal is right there."

 

Kaneki's eyes widened before shaking his head, "Wait...Y-You can't be serious."

 

"I am... I'm sorry, Kaneki."

 

"No."

 

"Kaneki-"

 

He shook his head, "No!"

 

"I'm serious, Kaneki. I really can't go." Hide sighed and closed his eyes before letting his forehead meet Kaneki's as he spoke quietly for only the other to hear, "I.. I want to leave with you, believe me Ken. I can't."

 

"You can try." Kaneki whispers looking at the blond’s eyes, “Just go with me, Hide.” 

 

A broken chuckle escaped Hide when he pulled away, "I told you, I can’t. It's impossible."

 

"Hide-"

 

"Please, just go through Kaneki. I'll be okay."

 

"...But I won't." Kaneki whispered looking at him with tears welling up in his eyes. "I won't be okay. And I know neither will you."

 

Hide smiled sadly, "Ah you know me so well buddy,” he chuckled quietly, “I'm really going to miss you. But you have to do this."

 

"What are you-"

 

"Goodbye, Kaneki Ken." Hide said feeling his own eyes starting to sting with tears, "It was great being your best friend in here."

 

"Hide, please." Kaneki pleaded, shaking his head. His heart pounded. This can't be happening. 

 

"I'm really sorry."

 

"Don't-"

 

"You have to get out there..." Hide chuckled letting a tear roll down his own cheek, "I know you can do it." He carefully put his hands on Kaneki's shoulders moving him towards the portal ignoring the attempts Kaneki was making for him to stop, "....Remember what I told you. Just do your best and I promise I’ll get you home."

 

Before Kaneki could say something, his eyes widened once he felt the blond finally push him into the portal.

 

"Goodbye. Take care of yourself. We'll meet again soon or someday."

 

"HIDE!"

* * *

He never expected any of it not being real.

.

.

.

The moment he woke up...

.

.

.

He felt relieved.

.

.

.

No more pain.

.

.

.

No more darkness.

.

.

.

No more blood.

...

...

But there was something missing...

...

Not something.

...

...More like someone.

...

"Hide..." His eyes snapped open and he quickly turned to the person next to him in a state of panic.

"Where's Hide?!"

"Kaneki calm down."

"No! Where is he?! Where's Hideyoshi Nagachika?!"

"He's not here! He's with the CCG group!" Kaneki froze. "What are you talking about? Group? You have groups in this place?"

The girl hesitated before nodding. "Yes, we do. You're with the Anteiku group."

"Anteiku... Wait a minute. What?!"

* * *

  _Meanwhile..._

"Arc user, Hideyoshi Nagachika."

"Yes?" He answered inwardly flinching at being called my his full name.

"Please report back to the CCG. Immediately."

Hide stayed quiet at the cold tone for a moment gazing at the buildings around him as he walked before responding his phone, "...On my way."

"Very well."

Hide curled his hands into fists when he spotted the CCG building nearby.

The world went through a restart or in this case a reboot. At least, that’s what he could recognize.

He clenched his fists by his side for a moment.

He took a deep breath, pulling his cap over his head, casting a shadow over his face as he roughly wiped his eyes at the incoming frustrated tears he felt welling up. After a while of walking towards the building, he turned around from the corner and couldn't help but laugh at himself, until his voice began to crack. His legs gave in, making him land on his knees on the pavement.

"This is stupid. I don’t care anymore..." He muttered after five minutes of calming down. “I better do this right.”

Without another word, he stood up and walked to the entrance masking his expression as best as he could then walked in.

* * *

"I have to get him out of there Touka."

Touka frowned, "You can't go anywhere near that place Kaneki. It's too dangerous."

"Too dangerous?" Kaneki questioned until he scoffed, "You all put me in a world that was way beyond dangerous! I can handle it. I'm going in there and I'm getting Hide and the rest out."

"He's an arc user for them, he can't leave that place. You on the other hand, are a route user for us. You can't go either after being there once. You're going to put us all in danger if you decide to go, idiot." She warned him with a glare as if to remind him what that meant and the consequences that would happen.

"I don't care. I'm going." He stated crossing his arms while narrowing his own eyes into a glare of his own towards her.

"No you're not."

"Yes I am."

Touka sighed heavily, "Kaneki. Move on."

"Not without him."

Touka growled, grabbing his arm, "If you step one foot out of this place, I guarantee you will be put down by the others."

"Oh yeah?" He scowled pulling his arm from her grip and walked out to the halls.

"Watch me."

* * *

"There's something we'd like to discuss with you Nagachika."

"What is it Akira?"

"You seemed to have vanished into an unknown area a few minutes ago. Your radar didn't pick up any signal of your whereabouts. What were you up to?"

Hide shrugged, he knew why he was called up for and didn't give away too much of what he was doing before coming into the building, "I was suppose to meet with someone. I had to say goodbye to them. No big deal."

Amon couldn't help but raise a brow and then interrupt. "Who was this person Nagachika?"

He knew by everyones' expressions, they were getting suspicious of him.

Still, he knew better. Their behaviors were different.

"A friend."

A hand slammed onto the table in front of him. He didn't move an inch nor flinch when it happened. But he knew who it was anyway.

"You're jeopardizing your safety among this world and ours Hideyoshi! Where did you go?" Akira demanded grabbing his collar in a strong grip.

"I said I was meeting a friend," Hide replied with a frown and avoided her glare.

Sighing, the blonde woman let go of his collar and stood up from her seat as she made her way to the door.

"Fine. You're dismissed."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Hm...Might continue.)
> 
> ~~edit as of 1/22/2018: I decided to make minor changes to this chapter a bit because to me it was cringy af. Hopefully now it’s kinda okay, I guess.~~


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who updated? This loser *points self*

_A few weeks ago. _

The moment he figured it out, wasn't a pleasant morning for him.

Or so he thought.

As soon as his eyes opened and his vision adjusted to his surroundings, it looked suspiciously like he was in a hospital. Plain walls and tiled floors, the low hum of machinery that he desperately hoped he wasn't attached to. But as of right now, he didn't care. He was confused. Also, he was angry. The moment he had woken up and when all of _this_ was explained. He couldn't describe the emotion he was feeling in that moment. All he knew was that he wasn't in the mood to do anything they were trying to tell him to do.  

"Hideyoshi would you please-"

"No. Leave me alone."

The nurse frowned, "Hideyoshi you must corporate-"

"I said leave me alone!" He snapped turning on his side from the bed he was laying on. His back facing the nurse. "Leave me alone..."

He heard a sigh and then footsteps begin to fade. "Alright. But I'm letting you know, you'll be able to get out of here in a few hours. But you are going to be escorted to the CCG building."

"Why?" He asked not moving from his spot. 

"They need to speak with you."

* * *

"It...wasn't real?"

"That's correct. You and those who were involved were all asleep during the entire thing. Except for those who were deceased."

Hide frowned absently looking at his bandaged injuries in disbelief.

The scratches and bruises haven't completely faded at all. 

His thoughts suddenly began to go into overdrive, not listening to a thing from the person. All he could think about was...

_It was fake._

_It wasn't real..._

_None of it happened._

_It never happened._

_The whole time._

_The whole fucking time._

His thoughts then began to shift into instant realization as he remembered everything. All in vivid details.

_Does that mean...?_

His eyes widened. ' _Kaneki.'_

_He...He isn't a half-ghoul... but..._

Hide swallowed.

_Is he okay?_

_Is he still the same?_

_Is he still my best friend?_

_Is he....alive?_

_Then where? Where is he?_

He bolted up from his seat, eyes narrowing, "Where's Kaneki?"

"Um..We don't know who that is Nagachika-"

The blond slammed his chained cuffs against the table, making it release a loud noise which made the other person flinch, "Don't give me that!" He yelled as he narrowed his eyes, "You do know who he is! Don't lie to me! Where is he!?" He needed to know. He wanted answers. He wasn't going to go along with this sick truth without knowing where's his best friend.

The young man who was in the room quickly tried to reason with him, "I'm sorry Hideyoshi but we don't know anyone with that name in here! Calm down! They probably don't exist in these grounds!"

All of a sudden, Hide stood still at those words,"...If he's not here. Then he has to be somewhere, right?" He spoke in a quiet voice catching the other off guard. 

"I suppose, Mr. Nagachika. He could be with another group. There are multiples of them." The person suggested trying to ease any tension the boy would start again. And if that were to happen, all hell would break loose and it would bring trouble.

"Oh man," A bitter laugh escaped Hide when he sat back down on his seat as he ran a hand through his hair, hiding his face, "I can't believe this." he murmured before leaning back against the chair, "Now that I think about it...You guys really don't give a damn about anyone but the outcome of this _thing_ you guys have been doing for a while, right? No wonder you guys are always in every corner in that world."

Without getting an answer, Hide knew he got them. 

He figured there was something going on. 

Although...

This was all too much for him to grasp.

His hands curled up into fists, as he recalled the events he went through. And the fact that they were deliberately keeping this a secret from the outside made his stomach twist uncomfortably. 

He didn't like this.

That place... Was only a sick twisted world.

A tragic world.

He wanted it to stop.

He wants nothing to do with whatever they were up to.

He wants everything to be back to normal.

He wants to know where's Kaneki.

He wants to see his best friend.

He...

...He just wants to go home.

And the only  _other_ way to do that was...

"...Take me back." He whispered uncurling his hands as he put them inside his pockets, glancing at the ceiling without looking at anyone, "I don't care anymore about whatever this is, just take me back to-..20th Ward."

Silence met his ears until he finally heard a reply.

"As you wish."

* * *

"Hideyoshi, I'm warning you. You are not to leave from your designated area. Do I make myself clear?"

"Didn't I say I'm not going to take part of what you guys are doing?" Hide shot back, annoyed evident in his tone after waking up again. "Let me get on with my life. Or in this case whatever life I've been living with in this place."

"You have to follow orders."

Hide clenched his fists. "No way."

Just then, the door opened.

"Hideyoshi Nagachika."

A woman's voice read out his name and Hide stayed put without looking at them.

"You are Nagachika, correct?"

He didn't reply which prompted the woman to continue.

"I'm Akira Mado. So you know about this world not being real."

The boy stayed silent.

Suddenly he heard the woman's footsteps get closer and he had to refrain himself from backing away as he felt her presence.

"Why don't we make a deal?"

"A deal?" He questioned, finally raising his head and saw the blonde woman.

"I'll let your crime of sneaking away from the facility be unpunished," She started, "In return, you'll lend us your assistance and join this group."

Hide frowned, "And if I refuse?"

"We'll wipe everything you have encountered beyond the other world from your mind. You will have no memories of being there. You weren't suppose to wake up yet."

The boy froze. 'What?'

'Can they really do that?' He thought as he registered what she just said.

"Considering the things you've been doing in the past few days and months," Akira said leaning to his eye-level from where he was sitting, "You have been breaking a lot of rules lately, Hideyoshi Nagachika. If I'm not mistaken."

Hide took a deep breath.

He wasn't going to let that get to him.

But... What if..?

"...No." His brown eyes hardening slightly as he stared at light blue ones of Akira's eyes.

"I'm not joining." He said once he stood up, "You can threaten me all you want," Hide paused when he was near the exit door, "But I'd rather forget waking up to this."

* * *

_ Present _

"Do you even know where the hell you're going, idiot?" Touka asked trailing behind Kaneki.

"No, but I'm getting out of here by any means necessary." He replied looking around while he walked for an exit.

"Hey...How did you wake up?"

Kaneki's footsteps slowed down a little bit, "Why?"

"You found your hidden portal, didn't you?"

Kaneki didn't respond until after a few minutes.

"Yeah... I did. I got help finding it."

Touka didn't ask anything else once she figured out who it was that helped him. She could tell it was the boy he mentioned earlier. 

 _'Hideyoshi Nagachika, huh.'_ She glanced over at the windows they've passed by before sighing, _'You better not be in trouble in that world. For your sake and Kaneki's.'_

* * *

_ Back to Hide _

At least he got off the hook.

Hide thought as he released a sigh.

Pulling out his cell phone, he glanced at his reflection on the screen for a moment and then unlocked it to see the time.

"That late huh." He muttered under his breath. While staring at the mobile for a bit, Hide's eyes widened, "I wonder..." He looked around his surroundings and then started to run towards his apartment. He had an idea and he needed to get home to see if it would work.

Finally making it to his apartment, the blond unlocked his phone again and then started scrolling through his contact list before he stopped at a familiar name. 

His heart pounded.

Will it work?

Or will it fail?

He eyed the name and saw the two options as soon as he touched the screen.

_> Message_

_> Call_

"Please let this work..." Hide bit his lip then he let his finger hover over his choice. 

**_> Contact: Kaneki Ken_ **

_> Message<_

"...I hope he answers this time." Hide whispered as he began to type. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, my writing is still rusty. Sorry about that.  
> Anyway, I decided to continue this :]  
>  ~~and I'm still thinking on a plot, but yeah I'll see what I can come up with, so far I'm just writing whatever comes to my head.~~


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp I finally updated this so here's the third chapter.
> 
> Enjoy~

_Two days ago..._

"...What is that?"

Warm hazel eyes locked into her blue ones.

"A way out," was the reply of the young blonde girl as she hid a hidden passageway from the ground with a carpet.

Touka froze and sharply turned to her friend with wide eyes,"You knew about this?"

Yoriko couldn't help but laugh and then smile smugly at her, "Ne, Touka, you should know there's another thing I do besides cooking around here." She says with a wink as she pulled back her hair behind her ear, "And nope, I didn't. I figured it out." She added while placing her apron on.

Touka stared at her stunned, "What exactly did you figure out?" 

The blonde began to hum before her expression changed into a calm one,"What if I were to tell you that none of this is real, Touka."

"...What?" Touka asked with a worried frown. Yoriko didn’t bother to answer her, as she knew her best friend's frustration would only lead to her snapping.

"Let's say, you were dreaming this whole time?" Yoriko continues in a whisper and then smiled sweetly at costumers walking into the bakery before greeted them with a cheerful, "Welcome!"

"Yoriko, that doesn't make any sense. What are you trying to tell me?" 

"Hm....Your Ukaku is slowly emerging." 

"Huh?!" In alarm, Touka quickly turned around to look behind her shoulder to see if it were true about her kagune before she realized what just happened and then froze.

'Did she just...trick me?' 

When she turned around again to face Yoriko, she was met with those same gentle haxel eyes looking at her. She was giggling softly as she went to place the bread's dough she was making into the oven. 

"I knew I'd get a reaction, but I didn't expect that one, Touka." Yoriko says in amusement, "You're still the same as you were when we were younger."

"Yoriko..." She wanted to ask her how did she know. She was sure she was careful about her identity around her but apparently she was wrong. Just how... How did she find out?!

"...-oul."

What?

Touka finally recovered from her senses when she realized the other girl was telling her something.

"What...did you say?"

Yoriko gave her a huff as if she was about to scold at her for not listening like how she used to do back in their junior high and Touka couldn't help but smile sheepishly waiting for her to repeat what she told her,"I said," She looked around the bakery, making sure nobody was listening to them, "...you're not really a ghoul."

"..." 

Taking her silence as her queue to keep going, the blonde continued to speak.

"...You're a human, Touka."

She blinked. 'What?'

"Everyone in this world," Yoriko looks at her in the eye, "is human."

She turned silent as if this was all too much for her. Touka didn't know if the other was playing a joke on her but then again she knew better than to accuse Yoriko. 

"We're just..."

"Yoriko." She bit her lip, "What are you trying to say?"

"We're like birds trapped in a chained up cage." 

"We're trapped?"

Yoriko nodded and then reached inside her pocket and pulled out a card.

"Rumor is, if anyone finds a type of card, it means there's a chance to escape this world and return to their rightful life through a portal or vault," She turns over the card in her hand demonstrating, "I have the four of hearts but... I'm not sure I'd want to wake up yet. Something just doesn't feel right, who knows what they've been doing to us all this time."

"...Yori–"

"Touka, listen to me. I actually have your card with me." Yoriko says looking at Touka in the eye to show that she wasn't kidding around.

"Eh? But h-how?"

"Back before break, it fell out from your bag and I was going to return it to you but by the time I went to the bridge, you left so I just kept it with me."

"So-"

"Look, I'm not asking you to do anything about this because I know you're just going to do it anyway," The blonde girl says as she handed her card over and placed hers back inside her pocket, "but try to figure out what's going on out there okay?"

Touka lowered her gaze over at her card and her eyes widened.

Ace of Clubs.

'What the hell?' She thinks as she stares at it in shock.

Why is this her card? 

She looks back at her best friend to ask but then realizes that she went back to work and was currently serving customers.

Placing hera card to her jacket pocket, she see's a napkin beside her and notices a message written on it.

**_I heard if you slam your card on the ground, a portal may open. Just a heads up! -Y._ **

Touka sighs heavily.

This was going to be rough day, wasn't it?

* * *

_Present time..._

Hide frowned as he watched the news on his television and couldn't help but scowled at the reporter exclaiming what was going on among the CCG's investigations.

He rolled his eyes and leaned back against his bed. The blond then let his gaze wander towards his cell phone beside him with a blank stare. 

 _'Nothing so far.'_  He thought with a sigh and then reached for his blanket and wrapped it around himself. Shutting off the television, he brought his hand up to his hair pushing the strands back.

He needs to get out of here...

But how?

Hide began to think back on the words Akira said to him after he refused her deal.

_"You're a smart kid, Nagachika." Her voice held a bit of an impressed tone that he couldn't help but feel uneasy while his back was facing her. Something just felt out of place._

_"I suppose we'll just let you off with a fair warning." Hide's grip tightened slightly on the doorknob._

_"But keep in mind, Nagachika-san." Her tone suddenly grew cold and much more serious and he refused to face her to see what kind expression she was making, "If there's ever another time this happens again." He stiffens, "You will be forced to leave from here, immediately. No memory of this entire world will come across your mind, ever. It will cease to exist."_

Hide takes a deep breath with his eyes closed. When he opens them again, he looks over his window, eyeing the moon. His gaze cold, hard, and distant for a moment.  

"...What are they planning?" He mumbled. 

* * *

"Are you sure we should let him leave?" 

"That warning is only to keep him alerted of doing something stupid. He knows better than to disobey it." came a woman's voice with a stern tone as they spoke.

"What if he does?" 

"Are you doubting me?"

"N-No ma'am."

"What about the outside world?"

The woman frowned, "What about it?" She asks as she stacked up a couple of paperwork.

"What are the possibilities that he'll do this again and once we send him back he will remember everything that has happened here? We can't risk him exposing all of this."

She sighed, "Not sure. But we'll think of something if that ever happens. No one has ever remembered anything after we've sent them back. The head of the bureau will probably take care of it. I'm just following orders."

All of a sudden the sound of static reached the entire room. Everyone in the room turned to glance over at the intercome and then began to listen, realizing it was coming from the bureau, specifically the chairman.

"I see we've encountered a problem from what I was informed. I advised Ms. Mado to take care of it. We will have no interference of any kind if this is not dealt with. That is all, return to your jobs." 

Akira then pursed her lips in thought, "Have the boy take the syringe from the other world." She ordered trying to ignore the unknown feeling she was receiving for doing this.  

"Yes, Mado-san." A chorus of replies answered.  

* * *

_“Hide? …Where are you Hide?"_

It's a voice. Calling him. 

_"Hide?"_

...He knows that voice.

“He’s looking for me..” Hide thinks, he’s afraid, alone, in the darkness of his mind aware after falling and loosing consciousness.

Fear suddenly strikes him.

The voice is far away, but it’s clear, breaking through the foggy atmosphere of his mind and body.

He wants to reach out to it, to Kaneki, to his best friend. It's him, he knows it's him. He wants to answer so that the other knows he's here but he can’t see and he can’t _move_.

Any sounds he seemed to be making, doesn’t reach his own ears. He can feel his hand but something is restraining him from moving them, his back is pressed up against a barrier as he tried to register his surroundings, it’s too dark and there’s a heavy feeling on his chest he's all too familiar with.

He could hardly breathe, but other then that, he listens again and he swears he hears Kaneki's footsteps almost like he’s in a room next to him, but Hide knows he _isn’t_. They’re in separate worlds. He feels his best friend’s presence go further away from where he is but his voice is still clear as he continues to call out to him, ringing through his mind. Like it always has. It’s the calm still gentle voice that keeps him in check, keeps him sane, pulls him back to reality when he is secretly on edge.

Focusing everything on his own voice, his lips part open and he tries with all his might to call out his best friend's name.

"Kaneki!"

Nothing...

Clearing his throat he tried again, hoping that his voice can get louder this time, "Kaneki!"

“KANEKI!” He calls out once more into the darkness. After a few seconds of no reply, he let out a shaky sigh at the fading footsteps.

Kaneki can't hear him.

Can't see that he's right there.

Hide shakes his head with a strained smile.

He... can't save him. Can't he?

He slowly turns around and is met with his reflection, he calmly stares at his features and when he can finally move his hands, he let's himself lay on his side, all curled up, he closes his eyes in the process.

"I want to go home..."

A tear leaks out of Hide's closed eyelids.

"..I just want everything to be normal..."  

He can feel something waiting for him, but he's not quite sure what it is, he doesn't feel any different just numb.

Suddenly, he hears voices, too many voices. Words, commands, sentences, and phrases.

...Something was definitely wrong.

Blurriness is all he sees once he tries to open his eyes.

He wants to know what they're saying but he can't hear them clearly. 

"...orders....Mado...syringe...wake up from...mustn't...understand."

Hide's eyes widened as he felt a sting on his arm. 

Just before he could register what was going on something flashed in his mind, he saw someone carrying a figure. Realization dawns to him when he recognizes Kaneki but when his eyes land onto the slumped covered figure in his arms, he froze in place.

"No way..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is done, I'm just not sure if I should post it yet. Maybe later or in the weekend I guess.
> 
> (I'll fix any mistakes later. If there's any)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter update at last~
> 
> Enjoy!

The blond tried to convince himself that this couldn’t be true, but nothing stopped him from knowing the all too familiar color of hair under that white sheet.

“No," he whispered, stopping dead in his tracks when he watched the sheet reveal who it was.

His breath catches.

That's not him. It can't be.

This isn't real...

["Stop it," He whispers.]

This didn't happen.

He saw Kaneki walk towards the investigators.

[ _"Stop it,"_ He says under his breath.]

None of that happened.

But he lived it. He was there physically. And he almost died.

He saw himself being placed on the ground as the helicopter from above brightened everything.

_["Nononono..."]_

From the corner of his eye, he sees someone draw out their weapon.

The moment he sees it, he could tell it wasn't just any ordinary weapon.

It shined.

It... looked sharp.

[He stiffened and he recognizes it.]

Quinque.

He knows who it belongs to.

_["No."]_

He knows what that man is capable of.

And he can't do anything as Kaneki steps forward with a small smile.

He see's the quinque in the man's hand begin to rise up slowly befo—

**"Stop it!"** He shouts.

Hide closed his eyes tightly as he gripped his hair in anger. After a few seconds, he cradled his head in his hands and curled up like before trying to figure out why he was seeing this, why was this appearing before him, why him...

* * *

"Vitals signs aren't in normal range. They're weakening!"

_Footsteps rapidly echoed. Too many voices. Too many._

"Elevated heart rate! This isn't good."

_Something's beeping rapidly..._

"Quick hold him down! He's going into shock, restrain him, stat!"

* * *

He then tried to drown out the voices around him.

And just as he did.

There was no sound.

It was quiet.

Everything seemed to shift again.

Just when he thinks it's safe to relax, he hears something.

The sound of raging waters, a rumbling noise, people frantically running, he could faintly hear multiple screams of terror.

He tries to curl up even more.

A voice then yells out his name desperately within the countless screams. He feels them pulling his wrist at the same time. His eyes open on instinct as he takes a peek at who it is and he stiffens.

The person is blurry. He can't see their face. Everyone around them are running in such a blur movement he can't tell if they are running away from what was going on or running towards it.

As soon as they started running, every thing around them shakes and he almost fell if it weren't for the person holding his wrist keeping him upright. He glances at their hand and finally notices his own was smaller compared to theirs.

'Did this happen before? Is this...a dream? A flashback?'

Before he could ask, the rumbling noise became louder. Panicked screams started to erupt as everyone continued to run to safety.

The sound of rushing water filled the air and Hide knew in that moment, he's seen this before.

But when?

* * *

As soon as his eyes snapped open, he finally took in his surroundings.

'Where...?' His gaze then moved to the two nurses who were staring at him in shock.

He felt dizzy and tired. All at once the nurses surround him.

"Mr. Nagachika? Can you hear me?"

Hide blinked slowly.

"Are you okay? Do you know where you are?"

The boy continued to blink almost as if not acknowledging them at all.

Until he acknowledged something else...

"Hideyoshi..."

That voice, one that he hasn't heard for a while, maybe even years after he turned ten, but he knew who's voice that belonged to. His vision slowly began to blur and as soon as a saw a familiar pair of eyes, a tear fell, he shakily reached his hand out, "M-Mom," His throat felt dry but he didn't care. The woman in front of him quickly stepped forward grabbing his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze as she whispered so quietly he almost couldn't hear her voice, "I'm so sorry, honey..."

Hide bit his lip at the apology. He could see she had no choice but to abandoned him into that world. The moment before meeting Kaneki at the age of ten, he knew something didn't feel right when he read the note she left him at that time when she left their home.

When she was suddenly... gone.

He didn't understand at first from his young mind at the time. He distinctively remembers the sad glances he had received from her the night before he went to sleep.

It felt nostalgic.

Just like now with the way she's looking at him...

More tears started gathering in his eyes at the realization.

It clicked to him.

This happened already.

_This happened._

He was experiencing the event right before his eyes.

This was the last memory he remembered living in the real world.

He shook his head.

_[closeyoureyescloseyoureyescloseyoureyes.]_

Blurry images began looming over his mind but he refused to pay any attention to them.

From a distance he could hear far away words almost audible. He let his gaze linger to the ground as he catched some of what she was telling him.

"..... sorry.... I'm only... selfless...safe from harm... watching...subject unit...number.. grow up from... friend...others... help.. no choice... courage remember... Hideyoshi... "

His own normal body is standing beside his bedside. His brown eyes are then fixated on the scene before him.

He watches her leave the room, a sad smile and tears trailing down her cheeks. He see's his child-self react instantly. Reaching out his hand towards her retreating back an watches the way he pitifully cried for her to come back until his voice went hoarse and he covered himself with that blanket over him.

She left him.

Alone.

Silence meets his ears once more as the scene changes. The small boy is sitting on the mattress, staring out the half-opened window with a blank gaze and dried tear-stains on his cheeks. He looks tired with tiny bags hanging under his eyes from the lack of sleep.

He recalls the exhaustion he felt in his small body.

Hide frowns, he wants nothing more than to tear himself away from this memory but he can’t and then everything changes again and he sees himself being escorted to a room full of other children his age sitting with headphones on their ears.

What?

He's confused.

He's then switched into his child-self body. And once they managed to place those sets of headphones over his ears, his eyes widened at the noise. He wants to scream but had no voice to do so and while his hands were restrained, he had no choice but to listen.

As he plunges, his thoughts are oddly about a black haired grey-eyed boy.

And then…his mind goes blank.

The silence was really...deafening.

* * *

_ Meanwhile. _

Images...

Visions...

Memories...

Red...

So much red...

And then darkness...

Kaneki gritted his teeth shaking his head as he continued looking for a way out.

"Now's not the time." He uttered under his breath, his eyes scanning the entire area of where they were.

He didn't care that Touka was trailing behind him. All he knew was that he had to get out of here and find Hide. Figuring out whatever is going on later. Right now it was his priority to find his best friend and escape this hell.

The minute he had woken up, somehow his body didn't feel right, like he had been torn apart and stitched back together crudely. Nothing worked like he remembered, but he couldn’t let that stop him, he had to survive this time. All at once the times and memories he spent on that 'world' all came flooding back to him.

What's worst is that the fact everything felt real.

Becoming a ghoul.

The pain he had to endured.

The suffering he dealt with.

The people he swore to protect weren't gone.

All of what happened wasn't real.

Does that mean they've been trapped in there for a while?

Are they all sleeping just like how he was?

He had so many unanswered questions he'd like to know the answers to.

Kaneki breathed through his nose as he quickened his pace. He was so confused, it was making him angry at whoever is responsible for this.

He glanced at Touka for a brief moment and wondered if she had knew about this. Was it a coincidence that she had woken up just like him? Did she know they weren't ghouls all this time?

Most importantly... How did Hide discover how to open that portal? There's no way he would've known how.

A buzzing noise suddenly disturbed his thoughts and he realized it was coming from his own pocket.

His eyes widened, 'Don't tell me...'

Stopping his pace, Kaneki pulled out his cell phone in mild confusion. All of a sudden when he checked why his phone was vibrating, he almost dropped it in shock at the message. If he has his phone then there's only one person who would ever text him. Reading the message, his lip quirked upwards into a small smile.

**_'Yo Kaneki! I'm not sure if this will ever reach you. But just in case...tell me you received this. Also, wherever you are, don't do anything stupid, 'kay? Anyway I need you to find out what's going on out there, until then reply to me any details when you do._ **

**_-N.H._ **

**_P.S: I'm sorry about earlier. We'll get to the bottom of this._ **

"Hide..."

* * *

Brown eyes shot open and Hide felt himself jolting upright from his bed. His body shook uncontrollably as the memories from his dream flooded his mind. Gasps wracked his body as he tried to catch his breath. Instantly his hand raises up to his ears as if he could still feel those headphones placed on him.

Recalling the noises he heard through those awful headphones, he felt sick. Gritting his teeth, he ran towards his kitchen and grabbed a water bottle, beginning to drink it all in a rush until the water was gone.

He gripped the empty bottle afterwards.

"I have to get out of here... Somewhere where I'm not over their stupid radar." He says under his breath, raising his head to glance around his apartment and then spots his backpack.

Just as he reaches for it, he see's a card sticking out from underneath.

He raised a brow and before he could grabbed it, his window completely shattered as a figure burst through it. He let out a short startled yelp and then without thinking threw his backpack against the person including the cap he had on.

"Do you happen to be Nagachika Hideyoshi?" They asked while they caught the items without a problem and Hide realized it was a man under some sort of cloak, their features not meeting the light which made it quite difficult to tell who it was. On the other hand, he thought he recognized their voice.

"Um... Why?"

"Follow me."

"Wait! I haven't said that person was me!"

The stranger let out a low chuckle, "Oh I definitely know you're him. I remember you were all over the place as an errand boy. There's no mistake."

'Errand boy?'

The blond blinked and as he crossed over to the stranger, his eyes widened when he could clearly see their face.

"Amon?"

"It's been a while, Hideyoshi."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes:
> 
> (as always, next chapter may be a while. If there's any mistakes, I'll get to them eventually.)
> 
> Btw much thanks for the kudos, subscriptions, and hits, I appreciate them ^^
> 
> ~~This story almost has 1k hits, wow tysm~~ ~~~~


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 5/14/2016 | Heya I finally updated (not satisfied but eh who would be if it's their own writing heh) Hope some of you enjoy

"Bad night?"

"Ah, what gave it away?" Hide laughs while running a hand over his hair.

Amon pulls down his hood and shrugged, "Lucky guess." 

The blond hummed before grabbing his backpack from the other male.

"Why are you here? I thought you were still with the CCG and not patrolling around here in that get up," He gestures to the older man's attire, "No offense." He adds.

"I'm technically not back with the CCG, Nagachika. Trust me. I was only there when they called for me as well as you. I had no idea they were tracking many people."

Hide recalled the way Amon had acted back when he was at the building and cautiously nodded. It wasn't because he didn't trust him but he was beginning to be hesitant on trusting anyone ever since he found out the truth. 

"So where are we going?" He asks as he placed his hat on his head, "I was actually heading out before you y'know barged in," He pauses when he see's the other shift nervously for a bit, "...through my window."

"I'm very sorry about that." Amon mutters scratching his head while staring at the shattered glass on the floor, "I can clean up the mess for you-"

Laughing, Hide shook his head interrupting him, "Nah man, don't sweat it. Just tell me why do you want me to follow you to who knows where?" 

Amon nodded and then proceeded to clear his throat, "Actually _we_ need your help."

"We?" Hide blinked confused,  "Who's _'we'_?"

"You'll find out when we get there." He answers and waits for him by the doorway.

With a sigh Hide grabs a jacket before walking passed Amon. "Okay, let's go." He says after throwing a dark wristband and a badge from his pocket to his couch not sparing much of a glance to it. He didn't needed it. Not anymore since there was no point to it. He was going to get to the bottom of this without any interference of being tracked down.

As he began to walk down the hallway, he doesn't see Amon gazing in thought at the card from before. It looked just like the one he found back in the office when he first began working as a ghoul investigator. He always wondered how the card _Jack of Diamonds_ managed to be placed inside his wallet beside his necklace one morning.

Once he picks it up and examines it, Amon places it inside his cloak pocket just in case. 

After all, he and some others also have one.

And they needed answers.

_'Ace of Spades, huh.'_

* * *

Hide was cold by the time they reached the destination they were heading. And by cold, he meant he was freezing. He should have brought a scarf with him knowing that it would be this cold at night. Amon didn't talk all that much except to tell him to hurry so they wouldn't be looked at suspiciously. He couldn't help but feel out of place from where they were going, he scans their surroundings and much to his surprise they were in a ward unlike the one his apartment was located in. This must be where the base Amon was taking him when he explained where they were to meet 'the others' as he put it.

_'The Sixth Ward,'_ He realized as he caught the street sign from the corner of his eye. He could even sense the change in atmosphere but he kept quiet since this was what he expected. 

At some point, Amon must've noticed how cold he was when he started to shiver once they finished climbing a ladder to a rooftop.

"Here."

The blond blinked when he felt something warm placed over him.

He looked up at the other and as soon as he did, his vision began to spin and suddenly the area changed to a familiar frozen covered war zone place.

* * *

_Amon's quinque falls from his grip, colliding on the concrete ground. His eyes seemed distant momentarily but Hide could easily see that he's smiling. A smile that meant he's waited so long for something like this to happen almost as if he finally achieved that goal he's been craving to accomplish for who knows how long._

_His body falls onto his knees, his shallow breath can be seen among the chilly weather. After he hears Amon's body fall to the ground, a second or maybe a minute less he see's his best friend's exhaustion give in and after his kagune vanish he also collapses onto the ground._

_Hide watches it happen while he's only a few meters above them from inside a building he hid himself in. His hand carefully covering his wound once he felt a trickle of blood slowly beginning to drip from under the uniform. He doesn't feel any pain from it only a dull ache for now but he knows it's only going to start hurting if he doesn't get it treated. Ignoring his wound, he_ _later catches a glimpse of Kaneki slowly standing up and heading around a corner. The sound of a helicopter grew close and Hide drew a breath when he saw it going to the opposite direction where everyone were fighting. That's good, he needed to reach Kaneki before he gets spotted._

_After making sure the helicopter left, Hide glances at Amon's fallen body in silence._

_With just one blink, his surroundings changes once more, he's suddenly standing before him._

_"First Seidou.... And now you, Amon-san," He mumbled, "Heh... The world really is messed up."_

_The wind is less harsh he realizes_ _but when it slowly begins to pick up he can see the peaceful expression upon the man's face._

_"...Sometimes I don't understand you investigators."_

* * *

Hide's vision suddenly began to focus back into the present when he saw Amon staring at him in slight concern and he looked away sharply before muttering a 'thanks' for the extra dark cloak he lended him. He didn't want to think about what went down at the raid right now. It was a long time ago. That's all over. 

_'It didn't actually happen,'_ he assures himself.

Yet, he can't help but sense a almost dread feeling from the back of his mind.

* * *

"Kaneki we don't have time for this. You can look at your phone later, I thought we were looking for that friend of yours."

"We are," Kaneki says and then puts his phone away. His gaze then shifted above and as soon as he spotted an air vent, he got an idea.

"Touka, climb over my shoulders." 

_"What?"_

Kaneki sighed, he pointed directly above them for her to understand what he meant.

She looks up and rolled her eyes, "As long as we get to save the others," She adds under her breath crossing her arms, "I need a weapon."

After looking around, Kaneki simply handed her a fire extinguisher telling her it was the only thing he could find besides the ax he was holding.

"What the hell am I suppose to do with this?"

He shrugged and then clasped his hands together for her to place her foot so she could finally climb onto his shoulders and enter the air vent without a problem, "I don't know, you'll figure something out. For now, just keep a look out and help me with the passageway."

Touka grumbled, "You're unbelievable."

"So I've been told." He chuckles after she nudged his head with her foot.

* * *

Well this is unexpected.

"Not happening." 

"Nagach-"

Hide stops him and gestures to the small crowd around them, "I didn't know you had a giant group with you Amon! By 'we' I thought you meant like at least seven people!"

Amon fakes a cough, "Actually it's just three joining us." 

Hide looks at him confused, "Then who are they?"

The older male points at someone who's sitting on a bench, "I'm not in charge of them. He is."

Blinking, Hide stares at them and then at Amon as he took two steps back a bit, "Don't tell me you led me into a yakuza gang Amon. Not cool man."

"What? No, I assure you Nagachika, they aren't in a yakuza group." He says as everyone in the crowd listened amused at the blond's accusation, "What gave you that ridiculous idea?"

"Oh I don't know. Maybe because they're all wearing these cloaks and I think they may have weapons under there that may or may not end up killing me. Have you not seen what they do in movies and on the news Amon? Get with the program!"

"My apologizes Nagachika."

Laughter interrupts the two and when they see who it was Amon straightens up letting his kakugan appear on his right eye while Hide looks at the male figure approaching cautiously watching their every movement. 

"He's right you know, I can also assure you we are not a yakuza group, don't worry. I take it you're the young man Amon-san told us about, correct?"

Hide raised a brow at that, "Depends what you heard. But yeah I'm Hideyoshi Nagachika. You can call me Hide."

"Pleasure to meet you Hide, I'm the leader of this group," The cloaked man says with a bow, the others following as well and they all backed up once their leader pulled down his hood just like he had seen Amon do back at his place revealing his face, "My name is Kazuichi Banjou."

* * *

Amon was a little bit wary when he didn't receive a comment about his kakugan from the blond when he settled in with Banjou as they began to talk about the situation at hand.

Banjou released a sigh at what the blond told him, "So in other words, we are all basically trapped somehow."

"Exactly."

After listening to what Hide knew, Amon looked at his hands in thought.

Oh how he wanted to laugh at this new discovery. So everything in this world is really wrong in every sense. 

Hilarious.

He hears bickering from everyone in the crowd that were gathered and couldn't agree more at their words.

"We shouldn't jump to conclusions though," Hide adds placing his backpack on the ground to lean against it from where he was sitting, "We really should come up with a plan. So who else will be joining us?" He asks eyeing Amon.

He starts to shrug, "They're almost here any minute—"

"Save it we're here already." A voice states as the crowd turns to who spoke. 

"I'm here too! Sorry we're late Banjou-san!"

"Oh Hinami don't worry about it," Banjou reassures the girl before facing who spoke earlier, "I thought you were bringing along Yomo, Ayato?"

"He's busy at work so he couldn't make it." 

Hide calmly observed the scene in front of him until he heard the boy and girl stop talking and then turned to him. Well the boy scowled as soon as he saw him but the girl was looking at him in mild curiosity.

"Uh hello." He greeted.

Ayato narrowed his eyes then turned to Banjou.

"Who the fuck is this? Why is there a human here?"

Hide blinked until he saw Amon's back in front of him in a protective manner.

'Ah right,' he almost forgot, 'they still think they're ghouls.' 

Banjou stood up and walked up to Ayato, "This is Hideyoshi Nagachika. He's here to help us."

Ayato scowled, "Does he have a death wish or something?"

Hide was about to retort to that statement but Amon spoke up.

"He is familiar with what is going on outside of this 'world'."

That caught the Ayato's attention, he then glanced over at the blond with a frown.

"So I'm not the only who's confused about this shit. Start talking."

* * *

"So how did you wake up?"

Kaneki asks Touka absentmindedly since they were both still looking for a way out so they could escape and release their friends.

"Yoriko helped me."

"Your friend?"

"Best friend." Touka corrected as she looked through the vent's small airways to spot any guards or anyone, "She told me that she overheard some information while she was working, about how that 'world' is only an illusion, a sick made up place that was created for who knows what. Hell, we might even been part of some test." She pauses as she concentrated on any sounds of footsteps or unknown voices and then nodded at Kaneki's direction.

"Area is clear, we can stay here for a bit, I have to stretch my legs." She muttered, jumping down to the room they've managed to find so they could hide for the time being. The minute she spotted a camera by the corner, she frowned and grabbed the axe Kaneki brought with them and hit it twice as it got destroyed. Luckily no alarms were sounding off which meant this room isn't really monitored 24/7 so they were okay.

Kaneki gave her a nod and then saw a unused desk then began to push it near the doorway in case someone tried to get in. 

"That'll hold the door until we figure out a plan," He says under his breath with a satisfied expression, "Okay, tell me everything you know," Kaneki brought over two chairs for them to sit and gestured her to continue. "Including this whole thing about arc users, route users, and groups we're put in."

With a sigh as she sat, Touka began to tell him what Yoriko had previously told her and the other information she found out after she regained consciousness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big thank yous to 1k hits and everyone who subscribed/left kudos/comments for this story, much appreciated ^^.
> 
> til' next update! ( since I'm done with school semester I'll have time to write [: )  
> ..........................................  
>  ~~btw, anyone up to date with the tg:re? cuz if so, shit is about to go down and oh man I'm very excited with what's about to happen next weekend.~~


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1/26/18 | Yeah hi, hello there, it’s been two years since I last updated this fic so I guess I’m sorta back? Anyway hope you enjoy ^^’

"Wait, I know you," Hinami says walking near Hide, "You're big brother's best friend, right?" She asks, "I've seen you before in Anteiku."

"Really?" Hide carefully tried to remember the times he was at Anteiku when she mentioned the coffee shop. He took a good look at her. A memory of a girl and her mother came into his mind during a rainy weather.

"Oh right!" He says with a grin,"I did ser you there once! Man, time sure–" 

Just before he finished, his vision began to blur this time and then his surroundings changed.

* * *

_He see's a little girl running from the corner of his eye, across the street from him in such a hurry he almost didn't realized it was the little girl he saw back in Anteiku._

_Without a second thought, he looked back down the street she had ran from and knew he should’nt let his curiousity get the best of him but he then finds himself riding his bike in that area._

_Pulling his hood over his head when ihe felt droplet falling from the sky, he began to pedal faster._

_As soon as he reached where he assumed the girl was running from, his eyes reached what seemed to be the scene of her mother surrounded by..._

_"Ghoul Investigators..." He muttered to himself._

_His fingers around his handlebars tightened as he see's the girl's mother speaking with the investigators._

_He could hardly hear what they are saying but he knows by the looks of the weapons in their hands that it won't end well._

_It never ends well to innocent ghouls._

_Taking a deep breath, he was about to pull away from his bike and try to stop them but paused his tracks when he caught a glimpse of an umbrella and then two figures running nearby._

_'Kaneki and... the little girl...the woman's daughter.'_

_Hide's eyes widened and he sharply turns back to the scene. He was just about to intervene until the woman's eyes briefly caught his._

_He doesn't know why but the way she looked at him had him frozen in place. It couldn’t have been her kakugan once her brown eyes changed nor her kagune, but it was the expression she wore._

_Time seemed as if it had stopped._

_The smile she wore on her face made his heart sink, he's seen those kinds of smiles before._

_He's seen those smiles plenty of times._

_In that moment, Hide knew what was about to happen._

_Turning his gaze away as he lowers his head, he see's his best friend and the little girl watching until a loud noise rings out and the rain begins to pour down harder._

_His chest tightens after he lets his eyes fixated at the blood from the woman’s body._

_Swallowing, he glances back at Kaneki and the little girl and saw them looking horrified but he could easily tell the little girl's screams were muffled behind his best friend's hand after he covered her eyes._

_He looked back over at the scene, lifted his gaze to the investigators and finally got a good look at them without drawing any attention to himself._

_He didn't expect to recognized the dark haired one he'd meet later on._

* * *

"...flies by." 

Hinami must have noticed his somber tone and tilted her head slightly when she asked him if he was okay.

He blinked for a moment and then began to rub his eyes almost as if making sure he really came back to his senses.

"Yeah, I'm fine," He answers smiling at her direction, "Nice to finally meet you, I'm Nagachika Hideyoshi, but please call me Hide." He says holding out his hand.

"I'm Hinami, nice to meet you too, Hide." She responded after shaking his hand with a giggle.

"Yeah, that's great and all," Ayato cuts in sarcastically, "Now continue telling us Nagachika, what the hell we all should be up against."

Hide nodded before turning around and unzipping the small pockets he had on his backpack pulling out a small box with chalks in it.

"What the hell is that?"

The blond shushed him earning a growl in response which he avoided knowing the boy wouldn't lay a hand on him even if he tried.

After placing the cloak he was borrowing onto the ground so he could sit down more comfortably, Hide began to write out some information he picked up onto the concrete making it somehow look like notes as he labeled each of the stuff he's writing.

"Who’s that?"

Hide shrugged, "It's a group, not sure if their label stands for something. As far as I've heard they are the ones we should be careful of if we ever encounter anyone from that group." He looked up at the night sky for a bit almost in thought and then continued to write down other information he recalled listening to, "But what we do have to keep a look out right now are the CCG. Half of them don't even realize what they're doing so pretty much all their focus is to eliminated you 'ghouls'. Or well, that’s what their motive is anyway." Hide pursed his lips for a moment, should he include the information he heard about the Washuus?

Making up his mind, he quickly jotted down the letter ‘W’ and ‘C’ next to where he wrote info on the CCG. He then glances at everyone who’s been paying attention, "All of you guys aren't ghouls, remember that." He adds reminding them, “But in this world you are.”

"So you're saying that those bast– _people_ , are part of a set up?" Ayato asks angrily clearly unhappy with this. "I say we destroy them." He mutters, “We do have an advantage.”

Hide hummed, "I'm not saying that they are, this is just a thought." He says after cleaning his hands on his pants leaving some chalk stains on it. "Call it a intuition or whatever but somebody within the CCG is controlling what's going on here. That includes the other groups. On that note, we really need to act on this. Because whatever direction we’re taking, we have to be ready."

"So this is a theory if either of them are behind this or involved?"

"Correct Banjou-san, you my dude, are on the right track!" Hide exclaims smiling brightly as he praised the ghoul leader.

Banjou grinned back and then looked around the crowd with a nod, "Got it, so we must come up with a plan. Anyone who has an idea, enlighten us."

Amon sighed sitting next to Hide then uttered under his breath making Hide let out a chuckle.

"This is going to be a long night."

"Sure is." The blond added as he watches the other ghouls give out their opinions and ideas to their leader, "Say, Amon?" Hide pauses for a moment until he was sure the other man turned towards him, "Did you quit?"

Not missing a beat, Amon answered, "...That night, I did."

Hide's lip twitched upwards, "Good." 

"Hey Nagachika?"

"Hm?"

"....Are you happy here?" He questioned, letting his hands rest inside his pockets. His hands slightly felt the cards he remembered placing them in there. He should probably mention them soon.

The blond closed his eyes.

"I was," he opens his eyes gazing tiredly at the man beside him with a feint smile, "but after a while..." Hide scratched his cheek absently, "...I’m not even sure if I was ever genuinely happy before I found out about this, Amon."

Before Amon could respond, Hide’s smile dimmed a little and then he laughed half-heartedly,  _“It's like I feel a little bit lost in this world.”_

* * *

_ Meanwhile... _

"Hang on, you're saying every single one of us are split into groups out here?"

"Yeah," Touka replies, "I even read it on the computer screens they had back there including those stupid recordings it had programmed. We're all users of this _thing_ they've been having us participate in."

"When I woke up, you told me I was a 'route user'. What does that mean? Do you remember what the computer had about that?"

The girl nodded, "A route user, like you and me. We were basically picking any route we chose unconsciously unaware of the consequences we'd face." Touka took a deep breath before releasing it, "In our case. We were suppose to be in route C Unfortunately we ended up on route A."

"Route...A?"

"Do you remember anything strange you think might've happened but the next thing you know, it really didn't?"

His eyes widened at the past events he recalled.

He nodded.

"It's different for Arc users from what I've read and eavesdrop." Touka says staring at the lights above them.

"What happens to them?"

"...The things they experience are mixed.  Whatever happens to them in there like getting injured, or death. It affects them a lot out here."

"So the people who we knew at some point all ended up dead for good?

"For fuck's sake Kaneki, yes, that's what the computer showed me." She frowned, her eyes watching him while he sighed. She was about to add something she also heard about near death experiences but then decided against it. Maybe in a later time.

"We were trapped." Kaneki concluded.

"Exactly." Touka stated and then she remembered the exact words Yoriko had told her, "We may have made it out, but the others don't know what's going on out here or in there. Yoriko told me there were rumors going around that if you find a card anywhere in your possession, that is your card bind to you and only you can get out through a portal or a vault."

Kaneki visibly froze which made Touka continue, "Yoriko found hers but she didn't want to leave yet because something wasn't adding up. So she told me she found mine the last time we saw each other," She pulled out the card from her pocket showing it to him.

"The Ace of Clubs..." Kaneki murmured as he recognized it. 

"I don't know why but aren't the Aces the most important cards out of the deck?"

He cast a glance at her and hesitantly nodded, "Yeah," he remembered reading something referring to certain cards and their meanings. 

"What if we were put there on purpose?" She asks.

This time his blood ran cold. 

"What if... Everyone back h-," She stopped herself, she almost called that place _home_ , no way in hell was that place her home now. But as she thought about the possibility of those who she interacted with as her family and people she cherished have been trapped in that place far more longer than her, she felt as every bit as angry, "... back at that _world_ , were put there without their consent?"

"Well then we have to free them." 

"There's no way around it Kaneki! Not everyone has a card within their hold! It's like we're stuck in a birdcage and we're the fucking birds waiting to be released." She later then mutters under her breath, "And for the record, I really hate birds."

"What do you mean 'no way around it'? We could just think of a solution about this." Kaneki said with a disappointing expression, "Like contacting the police! This shit is illegal Touka, and the way that these ignorant people believe what they are doing is for the good is messed up. I'm not going to sit around and do nothing."

"But Kaneki, we just ca-"

"Are you with me or are you backing out Touka?" Interrupting her, Kaneki looked at her with a cold gaze waiting for her to answer him. "We can't leave our friends trapped in there. They are all we have."

Touka was frozen in place at what he said and couldn't help but agree on his last statement. He was right, they need to do something to stop these people who have captured them and have been doing who knows what to them while they've been in that 'world'. 

The amount of pain they caused.

The amount of loss they had endured.

It was time to act and do something. 

And the fact that some of them had to live as a ghoul in there just made everything worse, all of them were really humans. Humans that were either kidnapped or captured for someone's sick entertainment. She wasn't even sure if what they've done should be consider fun, while most of them had suffered while these unforgivable people were having the time of their lives. 

"Touka."

She glances back to the raven-haired and then finally answered him making her decision final, "I'm in. What should we do?"

Kaneki let his gaze returned to normal and then smiled, "I knew you'd say that," He looked around and spotted something out of the corner of his eye, "I have some ideas."

* * *

"I hate you."

"Sure you do, doesn't this remind you of old times?"

Touka groaned, "Seriously," She crossed her arms, "We only did this one time."

Kaneki shrugged, messing up his own hair as he placed a dark coat he found laying nearby on himself, "Better safe than sorry."

"I really do hate you." She deadpans.

Kaneki chuckled.

"Yeah, I know."

Touka rolled her eyes and then looked over at him in silence as they began to finish up their disguises.

"...Do you think we'll save them, Kaneki?"

"I hope so."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man don’t you just _hate _writer’s block?__
> 
> I’ll try to update this fic as best as I can if ppl are still interested in it I guess. But as usual it’ll take me time since I’m also trying to update my other stories.


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